Get to know the 2017 Rising Stars

These are interesting times in government. Most agencies are facing budget cuts and pressures to trim the workforce, and vacancies in key jobs abound. But the Trump White House has doubled down on the previous administration’s push for IT modernization and recruiting top technology talent while government employees and contractors alike have stepped up to ensure that critical initiatives keep moving.

The women and men recognized here are prime examples of that whatever-it-takes culture, which has long been a hallmark of the federal IT community. And although such commitment can be found at all levels, it’s especially encouraging to see in these early-career leaders of tomorrow.

Each year, FCW honors such individuals with the Rising Star awards. Nominations come from all corners of federal IT as peers and managers point out the relative newcomers who are going above and beyond to make government perform better. As this year’s 21 winners make clear, there’s tremendous talent rising through the ranks.

That leadership pipeline is critical to tackling the government’s many challenges, and it offers a reassuring peek at the future of federal IT. Congratulations to all of this year’s Rising Stars.

Justin C. Ariel
Network Engineer/Systems Administrator, Office of the CIO, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA

Lindsey Averill
Associate Vice President
The Ambit Group

Dawn M. Bare
Product Management Specialist/Army ESI Lead, Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS), Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS)
Department of the Army

Anna-Ruth Beckman
Consultant
The Clearing, Inc.

Ruchika C. Croall
Director, Enterprise Program Management Office, Information Assurance
Department of Veterans Affairs

Christopher T. Crogan
Cyber Systems Engineer, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport
Department of the Navy

Amanda L. Day
Enterprise Cybersecurity Awareness and Training Lead
Department of Homeland Security

Mittal Desai
Chief Information Security Officer
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Marc C. Harrell
Director, Federal
Jive Software

Priya (Ishu) I. Krishna
Information Technology Specialist/CADE2 Requirements Program Manager
Internal Revenue Service

Laura Larrimore
Senior Digital Strategist
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Jennifer T. Lee
Program Manager in support of the Department of Defense Office of the CIO
Booz Allen Hamilton

Michael I. Maharaj
Chief Cyber Integration, Joint Staff J6, Directorate for Cyber and C4 Integration
Department of Defense

Maria McClelland
Technical Senior Staff Member, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Department of Energy

Kelly Moan
Senior Security Engineer, Cyber Solutions Division, MGMT/OCIO/OCISO
Department of Homeland Security

Freshta Mohammad
Senior Security and Portfolio Analyst in support of the Environmental Protection Agency
PPC

Darryl E. Peek II
Director of Operations, OCIO/OCTO
Department of Homeland Security

Stefano M. Rivolta
Project Manager, Innovation Sandbox
Department of State

Steven L. Wells
Senior Director, Program Management
DLT Solutions

Michael Whitaker
Vice President of Emerging Solutions
ICF

Michael R. Woodruff
Lead Computer Systems Engineer
CACI